The Heart I Once Had, Ulquiorra's Lost Friend
by Saric the Slayer
Summary: I'm bad at summaries. It's a story about Ulquiorra's past life as a human in the world of the living and finding his lost friend. I DON'T OWN BLEACH.
1. Introduction

**I DON'T OWN BLEACH!**

* * *

I had always wondered what the past lives Espada from Bleach were like, so I decided to write a story about it. Surely if they used to be Hollows than they must have had a past life as humans in the world of the living. But most likely they don't remember anything about it. The idea for this story came to me when I wondered what Ulquiorra's past life as a human might have been like. It may be written differently because even though I'm able to come up with great stories, I suck at writing them down.


	2. Ulquiorra's Return

**I DON'T OWN BLEACH!**

* * *

As Ichigo Kurosaki, Orihime Inoue, and Uryu Ishida left the battlefield after having defeated Ulquiorra Cifer and seeing him turn to ashes, something unexpected happened. The ashes that blew away in the wind all came to rest and formed together into a pile. The pile of ashes then started to stick together and form something, as it grew, it formed into a shadowy figure, until it finally created the end result. Kneeling on the ground was a weakened and sickly looking soul. It was Ulquiorra Cifer.

"What? How can this be" Ulquiorra said to himself. "I thought I was dead" But then he immediately realized something. The remains of his Hollow mask and his Hollow hole were gone. He was an Arrancar no longer. He had lost all of his Hollow powers. When he had been defeated by Ichigo Kurosaki, the damage taken to his body from Ichigo's attacks had caused his body to disintegrate. Before he died Orihime had given him something. Within his hand he had held one last bit of strength that she had given him. He had used that last bit of strength to regenerate his body using the last of his Hollow powers, now they were gone. This was Orihime's gift to him.

Now that he had a heart, he felt a familiar feeling. He had always had one, he just had to find it. Orihime had just helped him find it again. For that he was grateful to her. He then remembered something. Tied around his sash and kept in his hakama was an item he always kept with him. It was heart shaped pendant. He had always kept it hidden so nobody would see it. It had been there for as long as he could remember. He had no idea where it came from or what it meant, simply guessing that it was supposed to represent the heart that he didn't have. It was a remainder of his past life as a human. Ulquiorra remembered almost nothing about his past life. None of the Espada did, he was sure of it. He only remembered small bits and pieces from his dreams.

He remembered that a girl had given it to him when he was a little kid. He remembers that the girl who had given it to him had once saved him from drowning in a river, Ulquiorra couldn't swim. Those were the only things he remembered about his past life as a human. He wondered who that girl was and if he'd ever meet her again. He knew that it wasn't Orihime, but he was determined to find her anyways. He was certain that it was this girl that had given him a heart before. Orihime had only helped him find his after losing it.

He realized something else. Coyote Starrk, Baraggan Luisenbarn, and Tia Harribel had gone off to start the White Invasion and fight the Gotei 13 and the Visored. They were most likely walking off to their deaths. Judging by how powerful Ichigo Kurosaki was, there were probably others like him who they were going up against. He had to go help them or at least do anything he could. Then Ulquiorra found himself actually showing concern for them, something he never did before he had found his heart. He now saw the the Espada as his friends.

Ulquiorra then finds his Zanpakuto, Murcielago on the ground back in its original state. He wonders if he's still able to use it. He tries to use some of his powers and finds that he still retains some of his minimal and basic powers, but all his Hollow powers are gone. He picks up Murcielago and attaches it to his torn and battle damaged hakama and sets off through the desert of Hueco Mundo toward the battle happening at the fake Karakura town. He wonders if he'll even be able to do anything to save them in his weakened state.

As he left he began to say to himself, "Thank you Ichigo Kurosaki and Orihime Inoue for giving me a chance to live with a heart."


	3. A Falling Angel

**WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS ABOUT THE BATTLE AT THE FAKE KARAKURA TOWN! THE FAN FICTION STORY JUST STARTS OFF WHERE THE MANGA LEFT OFF. I DON'T OWN BLEACH! **

* * *

As Ulquiorra was leaving, he surveyed the damage he had done to Las Noches during his fight with Ichigo Kurosaki. Nearly half of the great fortress was now a crater, the result of firing his Cero Oscuras and unleashing his Resurrection. Nearby, lying on the ground was the cut up and mutilated body of Yammy Llargo, courtesy of Kenpachi Zaraki, no doubt. A few meters away Ulquiorra found Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez lying on a rock sleeping soundly, his injuries seeming healed, but it was probably best not to wake him up, he'd probably lost his Hollow powers too. He could easily tell that he had been fighting Ichigo. Ulquiorra was surprised he was still alive though remembering their bitter rivalry.

He wondered if anyone else was still alive in the fortress. He found the answer. Sitting on top of one of the intact towers were two figures sitting right next to each other. One of them he could tell right away was Nnoitra Gilga. Ulquiorra wondered, how is Nnoitra still alive? He had been defeated by Kenpachi Zaraki, now it looks as if his injures had been healed somehow. What surprised him even more was seeing who it was that was sitting next to him.

It was a woman with green hair and half a skull resting on her head, presumably the remains of her Hollow mask. It was the former 3rd Espada, Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck. What was Nnoitra doing sitting next to her? Ulquiorra thought they hated each other, judging by all the noise they made when fighting amongst themselves. Did she heal him, and were they watching the fight between Ulquiorra and Ichigo Kurosaki the whole time? What was even more puzzling was the look on Nnoitra's face, something had changed in him.

Even though Ulquiorra never showed any emotions, he could always tell what emotions other people were feeling just by reading the look on their face. It's something he'd always been able to do, and he'd only gotten better at it during the time Orihime Inoue was his prisoner. The look of Nnoitra's face was one of pure relief. Ulquiorra had noticed that the look that had always been on Nnoitra's face was one of suffering and anger, like he was always keeping his emotions trapped inside himself. Now from Nnoitra's expression it seemed like a heavy weight had been lifted from his heart, like he had been freed from all those bad emotions trapped inside of him. Now that no one else was there to see, Nnoitra had let out his true feelings, apparently it was Nelliel who had helped him do it, and they seemed so happy together now. Ulquiorra decided not to ask any questions and quickly moved on, knowing that Sosuke Aizen would probably be mad at him when he sees what Ulquiorra has done to Las Noches.

* * *

Ulquiorra eventually reached the fake Karakura town where the Arrancar where fighting the Gotei 13 and the Visored. He was to late though, Coyote Starrk and Lilynette, Baraggan Luisenbarn and his Fraccion had been killed already. Ulquiorra watched as Kaname Tosen exploded from the damage taken to his body and Wonderweiss Margela was nowhere to be found, presumably dead as well.

Ulquiorra was beginning to lose hope and wondered if it was pointless to have come to the fake Karakura Town. Then he hears a familiar voice and looks for the source of it. He looks up toward the sky and sees Tia Harribel, her Fraccion was absent, presumably dead as well. Then Ulquiorra could only watch as Sosuke Aizen betrays her and slashes her across the midsection, causing her to fall from the sky. Ulquiorra had always suspected that Aizen never cared about any of the Espada, only wanting power for himself. At least he could try to save her, even if it's just one person.

Ulquiorra ran as fast as he could towards the spot that Tia Harribel would land at. He arrived just in time and reached out his arms, catching her. The impact and the fact that not all of Ulquiorra's strength had returned had caused him to fall to his knees, but at least she was safe. Realizing that she was safe, Tia Harribel turned to see what happened. Tia Harribel suddenly seemed overjoyed to see him.

"Ulquiorra, you're alive! I thought you were dead." Tears began to fill her eyes. She had seen so many of her companions and friends die on this day and to make it worse the last person she could trust had betrayed her. She was glad to see that at least one other person was alive. She had been slashed by Aizen over the remains of her Hollow mask and now it was starting to crumble. Her Hollow powers were beginning to fade away. Soon she would lose all of her Hollow powers like Ulquiorra had lost his.

She was starting to pass out. Ulquiorra sat down to rest against the wall of a nearby building and carefully layed her on the ground next to him. He did what he could to heal her and managed to stop the bleeding and then she fell asleep. He wondered, why did he save her. Something in his subconscious had told him to and now Ulquiorra was beginning to feel a sense of something familiar even though he had barley known her. He was on the verge of remembering something but he couldn't quite figure out what it was.

He then noticed something about her, she had blue eyes. She was probably the only person Ulquiorra had seen with that eye color. Her eyes reminded him of water, like an ice cold river that someone could easily get lost in and drown. Drown? That was it. He remembered now. Drowning... Then Ulquiorra began to have a flashback as he fell asleep too.


	4. Drowning in Emptiness

**I DON'T OWN BLEACH! I SMELL CHARTER DEVELOPMENT IN THIS CHAPTER. I'M TRYING TO BUILD ON HOW HORRIBLE ULQUIORRA'S PAST LIFE WAS SO IT MIRRORS WHY HE IS THE WAY HE IS.  
**

* * *

As Ulquiorra began to fall asleep he began to think about his past life as a human and started to ask himself questions. He found himself talking to his inner consciousness as if it would give him an answer and started to see visions of his past life.

_"How is it that I can remember my past? None of the Arrancar remember their past lives."_

_"I guess that's what makes us different. Even if we don't remember, at least we Hollows had a past life while our enemies, the Shinigami were born and raised in the Soul Society. They'll never understand what it's like to have to carry with us all the painful emotions and tragedies from our past lives and then have to wear them like a mask, showing to all who see us what monsters we've become."_

_"All I've ever known was emptiness, so I guess that's what my past life must have been like. Has this hole in my heart always been there?"_

As he started to see visions of his past Ulquiorra saw the image of a town. It was a town much like Karakura Town, in fact it probably was and it was a warm and sunny day, perfect to be outside. On the outskirts of the city there was a flowing river and next to it was a little boy playing all by himself. Ulquiorra then found himself as that little boy and could see what he saw. The boy got too close to the edge of the river and accidentally slipped causing him to fall into the water face first. Before hitting the water Ulquiorra saw through the boys sight his reflection on the water and realized that the boy is himself as a child. He tried desperately to get out of the water but he couldn't swim.

As he began to sink deeper into the water Ulquiorra realized that he was going to die by drowning. Then as his vision began to blur, he saw a figure jump into the water and swim towards him. When it got closer he saw that it was a girl. As she grabbed him and pulled him toward the surface he noticed how she looked. She had short yellow hair with two small braids of it falling in front of her shoulders but what captivated him the most were her pretty blue eyes. Before he reached the surface he passed out, the deep blue of her eyes being the last thing he saw.

He woke up a few minutes later and found himself lying on the river bank. Ulquiorra quickly got up and looked around and saw that nobody was around. He figured that he must have been dreaming and that he had probably hit his head on the ground when he slipped. But the whole experience seemed real to him. He walked over to the path leading through the woods by the river and he started his short walk home.

* * *

When he got home he was only reminded of how much he hated his life. His parents completely ignored him. Not only that, they hated him. It was all because Ulquiorra's sister had died a few years ago and his parents blamed her death all on him. They made him feel as if he had no place in the world. Everyone made him feel like that.

_"That's strange. I don't remember having a sister. In fact, I'm not even sure what my last name was. How is it that I'm so sure it's Cifer in the first place?"_

When he climbed the stairs to his room he locked the door and layed on his bed starring at the ceiling. His favorite thing to do when he was in his room was sit in the dark thinking on all the tragedies that have befallen him in his life. At school everyone saw him as a "thing" rather than a person. They all bullied him because he was different and those who didn't were all afraid of him and wouldn't go near him. Some people even claimed he was possessed by a demon, which only gave people more cause to stay away from him.

_"I was hated and reviled by everyone. They could never see the tortured soul within me longing to have a heart."_

Because of all this Ulquiorra had no friends and was always alone. Nobody loved him or cared about him. This made him feel as if there was a hole in his heart. Nothing seemed to be able to fill the vast emptiness within his heart. Ulquiorra then found himself wondering if he would have been better off just drowning in the river. No one would miss him. Then he saw the calendar on his wall and groaned.

"Great, I have to go to school tomorrow."


	5. Ulquiorra's New Friend

**I DON'T OWN BLEACH! I SUCK AT CHARACTER DIALOGUE.  
**

* * *

As a child Ulquiorra hated school. Grades weren't the problem. He would always get good grades but none of it mattered since he was always depressed there. Right now he was in Elementary School. The real problem was all the other kids. He was bullied endlessly by everyone because he was different. At first they would beat him up but that eventually got boring since he seemed to just take it and not do anything about it, they couldn't harm him physically so they moved on to using words.

But then one day Ulquiorra just glared at one of the kids that was bullying him and they collapsed and died. It had turned out that the child had a medical condition and had died from it. But the truth was that Ulquiorra had accidentally used spiritual powers and didn't even know it. He had no idea what they were and that they were responsible for all the strange things that always happened to him. Even though they knew that the child had died from a medical condition, everyone started to believe that Ulquiorra was possessed by a demon and began to stay away from him, fearing that terrible things would happen to them as well. The kids at his school still bullied him but he was alone most of the time.

During recess he would always sit all by himself, away from everyone. Ulquiorra believed he was a monster and that he deserved to be alone so he purposely isolated himself from everyone else. He would always sit under the jungle gym where he would try to resist the urge to cry but most of the time ended up crying anyway.

But one day he met someone who changed all that. He was sitting in the same spot as usual but suddenly a girl from his class appeared, hanging upside down from the bars of the jungle gym.

"Hi, why do you always sit there alone?"

Ulquiorra was immediately startled because he didn't notice she was there.

"Oh hi, I didn't see you there. Why do you want to know?"

"Because you always seem so alone, no one seems to want to be around you. I feel so bad for you."

"I've always been like this. Nobody loves me or cares about me. Everyone hates me because I'm different. They see me as a demon rather than a person. I even hate myself because of that."

"I don't think you're a demon. You just seem lost because you were never loved. I'm bullied too. Everyone bullies me because of my hair. It's yellow while everyone else has black hair.

Then Ulquiorra turned toward her and noticed how she looked. She was about half a foot taller than he was and she had short yellow hair with two small braids of it falling in front of her shoulders.

"I don't think there's anything wrong with your hair. I think it looks pretty."

She began to giggle.

"You're funny." she said. "You want to be friends?"

"Sure" Ulquiorra said back to her.

Then Ulquiorra saw her her blue eyes and suddenly remembered.

"I remember you. You were the person who saved me from drowning in the river, weren't you? Why did you sacrifice your life to save me?"

"I had felt a strange feeling or presence. Something was leading me to you and I followed it and found you drowning in the river. I couldn't just let you drown. I've always had strange things like that happen. I just can't explain them. I've always noticed a strange essence coming from you."

"That kind of stuff happens to me too. I can sometimes see ghosts and I even accidentally killed someone with this strange power and didn't even know it. Everyone thinks that I'm cursed. There's a story here in Japan about something like that. If someone in your family dies that you were close to, strange things will start to happen to you. My sister had died and my parents blamed it all on me. So who died in your family that would cause this to happen to you?"

"My grandma. I had always loved her and now I miss her."

"You must have really cared about her. No one has ever cared about me."

"But I cared enough to save you from drowning. I saw that you were similar to me and I wanted to get to know you."

"Well thanks for that. What's your name anyway?"

"My name is Tia Harribel. But I either go by Tia or Hali."

"My name is Ulquiorra, but most people call me Uli."

"Okay Uli, can you help me get down from here?"

"What's wrong?"

Her face started to turn pink. "I'm stuck and can't get down."

Ulquiorra found this funny because she had been so calm the whole time they were talking that he would have never suspected it. He helped her get down but she fell and landed sitting right on him while he fell to the ground.

"Nevermind" she said as she got up and helped him get up as well.


	6. Emptiness Replaced with Love

**I DON'T OWN BLEACH! I SUCK AT CHARACTER DIALOGUE.  
**

* * *

As the weeks went by, the child Ulquiorra and Tia Harribel became great friends. They learned much about each other. Some of the things Ulquiorra learned were that Tia's favorite sea creature was a shark and that she's good at swimming. Tia learned from Ulquiorra that his favorite color is green and that he had always felt emptiness in his heart because he was all alone before he met her. They also began to discover many more strange things about the spiritual powers they possessed, which they were unaware of. One good thing that happened as a result of this was that the kids at their school stopped bullying them. The girls that had bullied Tia were too scared to come near her because of Ulquiorra and Tia defended Ulquiorra from the kids that would bully him.

Tia was the only person who had been able to make Ulquiorra do something that he almost never did, she could make him smile. Even when Ulquiorra was sad and started crying she hugged him until he stopped and would always be there to cheer him up. She acted like an older sister to him even though they were about the same age, filling in for the sister that Ulquiorra had lost. This became more prominent even after the terrifying experiences that befell Ulquiorra.

Like the time when Ulquiorra and Tia had gone to the beach and she had buried him under a sand castle and left him there. She had only gone to go get something but Ulquiorra had began to freak out when she left him there became the water was beginning to approach. But she returned to dig him out and as it turns out, she had only been gone for five minutes while to Ulquiorra it had seemed like five hours. She told him that she had would never have left him buried there and that she would always come back for him.

Also there was the time when they were playing hide and seek in the woods and Ulquiorra had gotten lost trying to find her. Tia then came out of her hiding spot in the branches of a tree to go look for him and found him sitting by the river crying. He was crying because he had gotten so scared when he got lost in the woods that he thought he would never find a way out. Tia had managed to calm him down and brought him out of the woods, holding him by the hand so he wouldn't get lost again. She then assured him that she would be there to find him if he lost his way.

* * *

They were friends even into middle school but then everyone started to tease Ulquiorra that Tia was his girlfriend judging by the fact that they were inseparable. They both denied this but Ulquiorra began to wonder what it really means to love someone. His heart had been so filled with emptiness before he met her that he was now confused about his emotions.

Then one day Tia took Ulquiorra to the park to see the fireworks there. She had grabbed him by the hand and pulled on his arm, showing him that she wanted him to follow her and led him to the top of the hill. Ulquiorra looked over the hill and could see the entire city. She had taken him there where they would have a good view of the fireworks and they sat there in front of a tree and watched them. But when it was all over she had fallen asleep leaning against Ulquiorra's shoulder. Ulquiorra not being able to wake her up and not knowing what to do decided to carry her home. About halfway there he found that she was too heavy for him to carry and accidentally dropped her.

"I never realized you were so heavy Tia." Ulquiorra said out of frustration.

"You know, your not supposed to talk about a lady's weight." This surprised Ulquiorra who hadn't realized that she had just woken up.

"Well anyway you fell asleep and I tried to carry you home."

They continued walking until Tia was finally home. Before she went inside Tia stopped to ask him something. Ulquiorra could tell something was bothering her.

"Uli I've been wondering, ever since we started middle school people have teased us because they think we're dating. But what if that was true? What if we actually were? It wouldn't be so bad if we did, even though everyone makes it seem like a bad thing."

Ulquiorra could tell that she was finding it hard to say something. She was too nervous to say it so Ulquiorra decided to say it for her.

"So do you want to? Do you want me to be your boyfriend? That's what your trying to say isn't it? We've been friends for so long and your the only person that really cares about me so why not?"

"Yes, that's it."Tia said back to him. "We should, I've been with you for so long that I'm starting to realize that I've always liked you."

The expression on Tia's face showed that she was overjoyed. Now they would be more than friends. They said goodbye to each other and Ulquiorra went home. He found that the hole in his heart wasn't there anymore. He no longer felt emptiness, it had been replaced with love. Now they could share the feelings they had for each other and he'd never feel emptiness again.


	7. The Birthday Gift

**I DON'T OWN BLEACH! I SUCK AT CHARACTER DIALOGUE.  
**

* * *

Eventually Ulquiorra and Tia found themselves in their first year of high school. But today was a special day for them. Today was Ulquiorra's birthday and Tia was the only person in their school that knew it was his birthday. After school she wanted to give him a present, something that he would always remember. They met after school that day and Tia started to talk to him.

"Happy birthday Uli."she said to him.

"Your the only person that knows it's my birthday today?"

"Yes, nobody else seems to care but I do. I have something for you."

She reached into her coat pocket and pulled out two items. They were both identical heart shaped pendants.

"I've had these two for a long time. They were given to me by my grandmother. You're supposed to keep one and give the other to someone you care about. As long as you keep it you'll always remember that person. You told me about how before you met me you felt as if you didn't have a heart, so now if I give you one of these you'll always have a heart. They have some kind of charm on them, so even when you die it'll follow your spirit. That way you'll always remember that you have a heart."

Ulquiorra seemed happy to receive Tia's gift. "Thank you, this means a lot to me. I'll remember how you were always there for me Tia. Even when I've gotten lost or I just couldn't stand to be alive you were always there to cheer me up. I was never in pain when you were with me. You loved me when no one cared about me and you helped me get rid of the emptiness in my heart. Even if I die I'll still have this to remind me that I love you."

* * *

Ulquiorra was always happy now and it was all thanks to Tia. But one day it all changed. Tia told Ulquiorra that her family was moving to another city. This shattered Ulquiorra because now he would never see her again. On the day Tia was going to leave they were both crying.

"I don't want to leave Uli. What will I do without you?"

"I don't want you to leave either. I don't want to feel emptiness again and live without a heart. You'd given me a heart. If you leave than so will it."

"Remember the pendant that I gave you on your birthday. If you keep it with you than you'll always remember that you love me."

Before she left Tia gave Ulquiorra a big hug and kissed him on the cheek trying to keep back the tears. They both had a feeling that they would never see each other again. The worst part of it was that nobody even cared about them and no one even cared how they felt. They only place they would meet again now was in the afterlife.


	8. Death and Departure

**I DON'T OWN BLEACH!**

* * *

As the days since Tia's departure passed, Ulquiorra grew more and more lonely. He'd become depressed and felt as if a giant hole had been torn in his heart, or maybe he didn't have a heart anymore. His feeling of emptiness had returned, as if it was ready to consume him. He eventually finished high school but it had been so boring without Tia. He had sat all by himself like he did before he met her.

After high school he lived alone in his own little dark corner of the world in Karakura Town. The pain was becoming too much to bare. Without her his life was meaningless. As a result of his spiritual powers he had began to see souls wandering throughout town, all of them seemed to be in the same kind of pain he was.

Then one day, which began like any other boring day for Ulquiorra, he felt a terrible feeling. When he and Tia were together they had always been able to tell when something was wrong with the other person, even when they were far away from each other. Ulquiorra now felt that something terrible might have happened to her and feared the worst. The next day Ulquiorra's worst fears came true. On the news he heard that a woman had died trying to save a little kid. As Ulquiorra continued watching, he found out that the woman who died was Tia Harribel. She had sacrificed her life to save a child, but why? Why was she always sacrificing her life for others. Ulquiorra began to cry. The only person who'd ever cared about him was dead and now they would never be together again.

Day after day Ulquiorra began to isolate himself from the world, not wanting to be reminded of his suffering. The emptiness in his heart now called out to him, telling him that he was truly alone in the world. Ulquiorra was slowly falling into insanity. The only time he ever went outside was at night when he went on walks. That seemed to be the only thing he could do to get his mind off of the pain.

He would always pass by a bridge that crossed over a river near the outskirts of town. There he would just sit on top of the low bridge and watch the water flow while the moon shined on it, creating a memorizing shade of blue. Ulquiorra had always hated the color blue, it only reminded him of Tia. One day he could have sworn he saw her reflection in the water and he reached out for it. But instead of reaching it he fell down five feet and into the water. It was only an illusion. He began sinking and realized again that he couldn't swim and he was in the deep part of the river. He began to think that he would drown and then he realized something.

He found himself in a familiar situation and realized that this was the same river he had fallen into as a child and where Tia had saved him. Ulquiorra felt that he was going to die and this time Tia wouldn't be there to save him. In fact the thought of dying didn't even seem to frighten him. He actually found it comforting. Instead of the ice cold water he felt warmth. At last he would be free from all his pain and maybe he would even be reunited with Tia in the afterlife. The last thing he saw before his vision turned black and was the moonlight shining through the water. Ulquiorra marveled at how beautiful it was. Even in the darkness of the night there was beauty.

* * *

When Ulquiorra opened his eyes he realized he was in a vast empty desert. Was he dead? Yes but he was now in Hueco Mundo. The worst part of it was that he no longer had any memories. He didn't remember anything from when he was alive and he had no idea how he got here. No one who became a Hollow remembered. He wondered, maybe it was for the best. His past life as a human must have been painful.

Over the long, uncounted years he wandered the infinite desert killing Hollows to get stronger. He didn't even know why he did it, he just felt the need to. The act of killing and destroying other Hollows seemed to bring him comfort. It was as if destroying those weaker than him was the only thing that could fill the emptiness in his heart, and he liked it. His personality had completely changed. Since Ulquiorra didn't remember his personality from his life as a human it wasn't that bad changing into a monster. That's what he'd become anyway.

He no longer worried about pain, because he no longer cared. Eventually all this attracted the attention of a man named Aizen who was looking to recruit him. Ulquiorra readily excepted. He was eager for a chance to prove he was powerful. But one thing would never leave his side. Tied around his sash and kept hidden under his hakama so no one would see was a heart shaped pendant.

It was a remnant of his past life as a human. But that was all Ulquiorra knew. He had no idea where it came from or what it meant to him. He had forgotten. Ulquiorra figured that it exists only to symbolize the heart that he didn't have. Even though he didn't know what it was, deep inside Ulquiorra cherished it as if it was the most important thing in the world.

* * *

Then it all came back. The vision was starting to end. Ulquiorra was starting to wake up from his dream and soon he'd be back in the real world. The last thing he remembered was saving Tia Harribel after she had fallen out of the sky. All his memories of his past life had come back. That vision that he'd just experienced reminded him of the time Ulquiorra and Tia had spent together. He remembered now that the person he loved had been right there in front of his eyes the whole time and he hadn't noticed. As the 3rd and 4th Espada they had fought side by side and never knew. When he woke up he had to see her. He was so happy that she would be there when he woke up.


	9. Reunited at Last

**I DON'T OWN BLEACH! I SUCK AT CHARACTER DIALOGUE SO I'M TRYING TO USE AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE. I ALSO SUCK AT ENDINGS.  
**

* * *

Ulquiorra finally woke up from his dream and found himself in an unfamiliar place. He could tell it was some kind of shop and that he was in one of the back rooms. Then someone opened the door and walked in. He saw her long auburn hair and realized it was Orihime Inoue. Orihime cheerfully greeted him and Ulquiorra greeted her back. She explained how he had ended up there and told him that she'd found him and Tia Harribel lying unconscious during the battle of the Fake Karakura Town and had them brought here to the Urahara Shop where she had healed them.

"I couldn't just leave you there." she began to say. "It was actually Ichigo who had convinced Urahara to let you stay here while you healed your injuries. Anyway who was that person with you?"

Then Ulquiorra remembered Tia was there when he'd passed out. He asked Orihime to take him to Tia and she led him to the next room. Inside Ulquiorra saw Ichigo Kurosaki, two little kids, Yoruichi Shihoin, Kisuke Urahara, and Tia sitting around a table having breakfast. Ulquiorra sat with them and they explained the situation. Since they were no longer Hollows and had no wish to continue serving Aizen, they could tell them all they knew of his plans in exchange for being allowed to remain in the world of the living and not being turned into to the Soul Society.

After telling them all they knew Tia and Ulquiorra went outside. Then Tia's personality changed from the one she had when serving Aizen. "I've missed you so much Uli. Don't you remember me?"

"You remembered too? Weren't your memories gone just like mine?" Ulquiorra was shocked. He thought it was just him that had that dream.

She reached into her pocket and pulled out an all too familiar item. It was a heart shaped pendant just like the one Ulquiorra had. "I assume we both had the same dream? I remember when I had given you one of these. Do you still have it?"

"Yes, I do." Ulquiorra showed her the one he had tied around his sash.

"I gave it to you because I knew you would lose your memories. You just had to remember somehow. Our time together was too precious to just be forgotten." Tia walked up to Ulquiorra and gave him a hug. "I'm sorry that you had to go through so much pain because I left. But now I found you, like I always have whenever you'd gotten lost."

* * *

Later Tia and Ulquiorra decided to stay in Karakura Town and live there while protecting it from Hollows. They even went and visited all the places they remembered from when they were young. The last place they visited was the river where they had first met. When they got there they found Ichigo and his friends there celebrating their victory over Aizen.

Ichigo went and greeted Ulquiorra who he saw as a friend now. Ichigo told him that he had lost his Soul Reaper powers and he was no longer able to see Rukia, who Ichigo missed.

"At least you still have your friend Orihime." Ulquiorra told him.

"She'll always be here in the world of the living, but it's because of Rukia my life changed."

"You idiot. You still haven't realized it."

"Realized what?"

"Orihime loves you. When she was being kept prisoner by Aizen she couldn't stop crying because she was worried about you. I asked her about it and she said it's because of you that she cries. She cares so much about you but don't even notice her."

Those words seemed to impact Ichigo. He looked toward Orihime and remembered how she had always been with him and now he realized why. Ulquiorra later thanked Orihime for showing him what a heart was and now that he and Tia were happily reunited. He wouldn't have to feel emptiness again.

**THE END**


End file.
